Drain cock



y 1962 E. w. BRINKMAN 3,032,311

DRAIN COCK Filed Jan. 23, 1958 INVENTOR. EARL W. BRINKMAN ATTO Y United States Patent Ofiiice 3,32,311 Fatented May 1, 1962 3,032,311 DRAliN COCK Earl William Briukman, 3392 Bufialo Road, Rochester, N.Y. Filed Jan. 23, 1958, Ser. No. 710,797 7 Claims. (Cl. 251-351) This invention relates to a drain cock for automobile radiators and the like.

Conventional automobile drain cocks are made of brass or other expensive material, and entail considerable machining operations to make them. Automobile radiator drain cocks of the type hitherto available and in popular use are closed by threading a valve member outwardly and are opened by threading this member inwardly. The valve member must be threaded in completely through before the drain cock is fully open, that is, before there will be complete free flow of water from the radiator. This requires quite a number of turns of the valve member and is often times irksome.

In the conventional automotive drain cock, moreover, there is only one valve seat; and if the valve does not engage this seat properly when the drain cock is closed, the drain cock will not function properly.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved drain cock that will require relatively fewer turns of the valve member to open the drain cock fully, to permit complete free flow through the drain cock.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved drain cock that requires much less material in its manufacture than drain cocks hitherto available, and that can be machined faster and easier.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drain cock that is easy to operate and that does not leak along its threads.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved drain cock of the character described that is constructed in such a Way as to avoid accidental separation of the valve member of the drain cock from the female member or socket, when opening the cock.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a drain cock in which the valve member will be threaded in to close the cock, and threaded out to open the cock.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a drain cock that is constructed according to one embodiment of the invention, showing the drain cock in its closed position;

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof taken from the inner end of the drain cock;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, with the handle partly broken away;

FIG. 4 is a similar section of the drain cock, showing the cock in fully open position, and with the handle partly broken away;

FIG. 5 is an axial section of a drain cock constructed according to a modified form of the invention, showing the drain cock in its closed position, and with the handle partly broken away; and

FIG. 6 is an axial section thereof showing the drain cock in fully open position and with the handle partly broken away.

Referring now to the drawing by numerals of reference, and first to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive, the drain cock 10 comprises a generally cup shaped member 11 and a tubular valve member 12 that can be threaded into and out of the member 11 to open and close the drain cock.

The member 11 has a peripheral lip or flange 14 at its outer end, for positioning the drain cock in an automobile radiator or the like. The flange or lip 14 is formed with an internal conical seating surface 15. At its base, that is, at its closed end the member 11 is formed with an internally projecting, axially-extending boss 17 that is formed on its periphery with a second conical seating surface 18. Adjacent its closed end the member 11 is provided with four openings 16 spaced angularly about its periphery through which fluid can pass. Between the openings 16 and seating surface 15, and spaced axially from both, the member 11 has an internal, generally cylindrical threaded portion 20.

The member 12 is formed with an enlarged head 21 adjacent its outer end, and a double-wing handle 22 is swaged on this head. The head 21 has a conical seating surface 24 (FIG. 4) at its inner end that is adapted to engage against the conical seat 15 of the female member. The bore of the valve member 12 is flared outwardly at its inner end to form a convex spherical seating surface 25 that is engageable against the conical seat 18 of the member 11. The valve member 12 also has a threaded portion 26 that is adapted to thread in the threaded portion 20 of the member 12, and that extends for only a part of the length of the valve member, being spaced axially from seating surface 24 and from the inner end of the valve member. At its extreme inner end the member 12 is formed wtih a single threaded convolution 27 that is axially spaced from the threaded portion 25 but that is of the same pitch as threads 26 and 20. The spherical seating surface 25 lies inside this single thread convolution 27. The convolution 27 and the threaded portion 26 are both of the same diameter and larger in diameter than the external cylindrical surface 29 of the valve member which separates them.

One feature of the invention is that the mean distance between the seating surfaces 24 and 25, respectively, of the member 12 is slightly greater than the mean distance between the seating surfaces 15, 18, respectively, of the member 11. In one practical embodiment of the invention, for instance, the mean distance between the surfaces 15 and 18 is .30 9 while the mean distance between the surfaces 24 and 25 is .314".

In the open position of the drain cock, shown in FIG. 4, radiator fluid can pass through the openings 16 in the member 11 and be discharged through the bore 28 of the member 12.

To fully close the drain cock, the handle 22 is rotated to thread the valve member 12 into the cup-shaped member 11. The spherical seating surface 25 at the inner end of the valve member will engage the conical seat 18 on the boss 17 of the member 11 before the conical seating surface 24 on the valve member seats against the seat 15 on the member 11, but since there is only line contact between the spherical seating surface 25 of the valve member and the conical seat 18 of the member 11, frictional resistance to turning the handle 22 is minimized; and the handle 22 can be turned suificiently to bring the conical seat 24 of the valve member on into engagement with the mating conical seating surface 15 of the member 11. Since the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the valve member is greater than the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the member 11, the member 11 will flex slightly to insure the seating. Furthermore, in the act of bringing the seating surface 2 onto its seat 15, the tubular member 12 will expand at its inner end thereby holding the spherical surface 25 under resilient load on its seat 18, augmenting the seal. Still further, the threads 26 and 21) of the two members will be held in engagement under load in the fully closed position of the drain cock, shown in FIG. 3. This prevents leakage along the threads.

The resilient flexing of the two members acts very much in the same manner as a lock washer and permits the use of double or triple lead thread on the two members so that fewer turns of the handle 22 are required to move the drain cock to its fully open position than is true with drain cocks hitherto available. However, even with a single lead thread the valve can be opened fully with considerably less axial movement of the valve member 12 than is possible with drain cocks hitherto available.

It will be appreciated that there can be as many openings 16 in the member 11 as is required to permit the necessary volume of flow. The four openings illustrated are generally square in shape but can be varied in sha e to suit the flow required.

The single thread convolution 2.7 is spaced axially from the next adjacent thread convolution of the threaded portion 26 of valve member 22 a distance slightly greater than the axial length of threaded portion 26 so that when opening the drain cock, the convolution 27 will engage in threaded portion 2% of member 11 and will prevent accidental separation of member 12 from member 11. This functions as a safety device preventing dropping out and loss of the valve member. After the convolution 27 engages threaded portion 20, the handle 22 would have to be rotated again several turns to back off convolution 27 from threaded portion 26 before mem ber 12 could possibly drop out of member 11.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the valve member 12 is formed with a generally conical seating surface 24' (FIG. 6) that can be engaged against a mating conical surface on the cup-shaped member 11' to form the outer seating portion of the drain cock, but the convex spherical seating surface at the inner end of the valve is an external surface formed on the periphery of tubular member 12, and it engages an internal conical surface 18 formed in domed closed end 17' of the member 12'. As in the first embodiment of the invention, the mean distance between the seating surfaces 24', 25 of the valve member is greater than the mean distance between the seating surfaces 15, 18 of the cup-shaped member. Hence the cup-shaped member 11' must flex slightly to insure proper seating, so that the threads of the two members are held in engagement under load in the fully closed position of the drain cock, as illustrated in FIG. 5, and leakage is prevented along the threads.

This modified drain cock can be operated in the same manner as the embodiment already described, the valve member 12' being threaded outwardly of the member 11' to the position illustrated in FIG. 6, to move the drain cock to its fully open position, to permit flow of fluid outwardly through the openings 16 to drain and through the bore of the tubular valve member 12.. When the valve member 12 is threaded into the member 11 fully to close the valve, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the inner end of the member 12 is subjected to slight inward radial compression as it is forced into the domed closed end in the member 11, until the outer conical seating surface 24 of the valve member engages against the mating outer seating surface 15 of the memebr 11'. The tubular valve member will yield sufficiently to produce a good seal between its spherical seating surface 25' and the mating seating surface 18'.

Other modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art.

While the invention has been described in connection with a drain cock for automotive usage, it will be understood that drain cocks made according to this invention are suitable for picnic jugs, outboard motors, garden tractors, etc., wherever a drain cock is usable.

Drain cocks constructed according to the present invention require less material than drain cocks hither-to available, because the valve member, and hence the cup-shaped body member, can be much shorter on account of the double seating action. Moreover, my drain cock has i superior valve action and can be moved between its fully open and fully closed positions with fewer turns.

While the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, then, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore'set forth, and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A drain cock comprising a valve member and a cup-shaped body member formed of resilient material capable of flexing, each of said members having two axiallyspaced seating surfaces, the two seating surfaces of one member being adapted to engage and seat, respectively, on the two seating surfaces of the other member when said drain cock is closed, said members being threaded between said seating surfaces, each for a portion of its length only, the threaded portions of said members inter-engaging, one of said members being rotatable relative to the other to move one of said members axially relative to the other to engage and to disengage said seating surfaces to close and to open said drain cock, said valve member being tubular and having a bore open at-its inner end, at least, said cup-shaped body member being formed centrally of its base with a boss which is engageable in the inner end of the bore of said valve member when said drain cock is closed, one seating surface of said valve member being disposed at its inner end around the inside of said bore and the associated seating surface of said body member being disposed on the periphery of said boss, said cupshaped body member having a port between the inner end of its threads and its closed end that communicates with the inner end of the bore and said valve member in the open position of said drain cock, the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the valve member being greater than the mean distance between the two seating surfaces of the body member, whereby said body member must distend when said seating surfaces are engaged, thereby to hold the threads of the members in engagement under load.

2. A drain cock comprising a cup-shaped body member which is formed of resilient material capable of flexing and which has a closed base portion and which is open at its outer end, a tubular valve member which threads into said cup-shaped body member to open and close said drain cock, and whose bore extends at least to its inner end, said cup-shaped member having a port'between its base and its outer end, each member having two axially-spaced seating surfaces, the two seating surfaces of one member engaging and seating on the two seating surfaces of the other member when said drain cock is closed, one of the seating surfaces of said cup-shaped body member being disposed centrally of its base and the cooperating seating surface of said valve member being disposed at its inner end, each of said members being threaded between its two seating surfaces along part of its length only, the threaded portions of the two members interengaging, the mean distance between the seating surfaces of said valve member being greater than the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the body member whereby when the two seating surfaces of said valve member are engaged with the two cooperating seating surfaces of said body member one of said members must distend to hold the threads of said members in engagement resiliently under load.

3. A drain cock comprising a valve member and a cupshaped body member formed of resilient material capable of flexing, each of said members being formed with axially-spaced inner and outer seating surfaces, the two seating surfaces of one member being adapted to engage and seat on the two seating surfaces of the other member when said drain cock is closed, said members being threaded together, one of said members being rotatable relative to the other to move one of said members axially relative to the other to engage and to disengage said seating surfaces to close and to open said drain cock, said valve member being tubular and open at its inner end at least, said inner seating surface of said valve member being disposed upon the periphery thereof at its inner end, the closed end of said body member having a recess therein, a part of the side Wall of which comprises the inner seating surface of said body member against which said inner seating surface of said valve member is engageable when said drain cock is closed, said cup-shaped member having peripheral ports between the inner end of its threads and its closed end that communicate with the bore of said valve member when the valve is open, the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the valve member being greater than the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the body member, whereby when said seating surfaces are engaged said body member is distended to hold the threads of the members resiliently in engagement under load.

4. A drain cock comprising a tubular valve member and a cup-shaped body member formed of resilient material capable of flexing, each of said members being formed with two axially-spaced inner and outer seating surfaces, the inner seating surfaces and outer seating surfaces of the two members being in engagement when the cock is closed, said members being threaded between said respective inner and outer seating surfaces and having their threaded portions in engagement whereby upon rotary movement of one of said members relative to the other member is moved axially to engage and to disengage said seating surfaces to close and to open said drain cock, said inner seating surface of said valve member being spherical and disposed upon the periphery thereof at the inner end thereof, the base of said body member being formed with a centrally disposed recess that has a conical side wall that forms the inner seating surface of said member against which the inner seating surface of said valve member is engageable, the outer seating surfaces of said respective members being mating conical surfaces and the outer seating surface of said cup-shaped member being at its outer end, said cup-shaped member having peripheral ports between the inner end of its threads and its base that communicate with the bore of said valve member when the valve is open, the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the valve member being greater than the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the body member, whereby when said seating surfaces are engaged, said body member is distended to hold the threads of the members in engagement under load.

5. A drain cock comprising a generally cup-shaped female body member that is formed of resilient material capable of flexing and that is closed at its base and open at its outer end, a male tubular valve member that is open at its inner end at least and that is mounted in said body member, each of said members being formed with two axially-spaced seating surfaces, one seating surface of said body member being disposed centrally on its base and being inclined to the axis of said valve member, one seating surface of the valve member being disposed adjacent its inner end and being inclined to the axis of said valve member and adapted to seat against said one seating surface of said body member, the seating surfaces of one member being adapted to engage and seat on the respective seating surfaces of the other member when said drain cock is closed, said members having interengaging threads between their respective seating surfaces and being rotatable relative to one another in opposite directions to engage and disengage said seating surfaces to close and open said drain cock respectively, said body member having a plurality of inlet ports disposed around its periphery between the inner end of its threads and its base which communicate with the open inner end of said valve member when said drain cock is open, the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the valve member being greater than the mean distance between the seating surfaces of the body member whereby the threads of the members are held in engagement under load when said seating surfaces are engaged.

6. A drain cock as claimed in claim 5 in which said body member has a centrally disposed boss on its base and the centrally disposed seating surface of said body member is on the periphery of said central boss and is engageable in the open end of said tubular valve member when the drain cock is closed, and in which the cooperating seating surface of said tubular valve member is at the inner end of its bore at the inside thereof.

7. A drain cock as claimed in claim 5 in which the base of said body member has a centrally disposed recess, the side wall of which provides said centrally disposed seating surface of the body member and the open end of said tubular valve member is engageable in said recess when the drain cock is closed, and in which the cooperating seating surface of said tubular valve member is at the inner end of its bore at the outside thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 678,792 Girardville July 16, 1901 1,112,136 Hayes Sept. 29, 1914 1,616,742 Derby Feb. 8, 1927 1,678,927 Weatherhead July 31, 1928 2,019,193 Mueller Oct. 29, 1935 2,403,777 Yanka July 9, 1946 2,647,652 Sanford Aug. 4, 1953 2,717,003 Jay Sept. 6, 1955 2,731,036 Hughes Ian. 17, 1956 2,925,989 Hempel Feb. 23, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 759,178 Great Britain 1956 

